For me, Jesus is my guide in life. By studying his words, his life and his death, I can begin to see what God demands for me in my life. But, if I get too stuck in one way of seeing Jesus or one way of believing in Jesus, then I lose my focus. I no longer focus on the God that Jesus points me to, and instead begin to worship Jesus. Jesus points us to God, but so often we get wrapped up in worshiping Jesus' finger and building theologies and doctrines around that finger, that we forget to look where Jesus is pointing.
Jesus' entire life was spent trying to show people how to be in relationship with God - not how to be in relationship with Jesus. Jesus was a tough man to have a relationship with, as the experience of those around him clearly showed. The disciples misunderstood Jesus from the beginning and only briefly recognized him as the Messiah who came to point the way to God. They found his stories mystifying and his acts amazing. The Pharisees found him to be dangerous, scandalous and ultimately a threat to their control on society. The people found him bewildering, confusing, but somehow strangely compelling.
When asked what the most important commandments were, Jesus was clear about where one's allegiance should lie - with God, not with him. He clearly instructed us that we should love God with all our heart, mind and strength, and further to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus knew that if we got our hearts right with God that self-love would overflow in our lives and we would not be able to do anything but spread that love around to others.
It's true that Jesus told those who met him to "follow me." But following Jesus is not the same as worshiping Jesus or trying to guess what Jesus would do in any given situation. Following Jesus means following what Jesus taught. It means trying to penetrate Jesus' words, even the hardest of his sayings, so we can discover how to be in proper relationship with God.
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